Let it Snow
by Nikaya
Summary: A Danny Phantom Christmas, one-shot, Secret Santa for Faint-Requiem on Tumblr! It features her version of Dani Phantom, Nellie, and her OC of the DxS pairing, Erica Fenton! Cover image credit to Faint-Requiem on deviantart!


Secret Santa: for Faint-Requiem on Tumblr

 _Let it Snow_

Erica Ida Fenton was pouting, to put it in the simplest terms.

The Fenton family – her older brother home from college included – were gathered together at Fenton Works for the holidays.

Grandpa Jack and Grandma Maddie had taken to throwing a small get-together every Christmas for as long as Erica could remember to get both sides of the family together.

That's right, the Mansons were included in that. And if anyone thought for a split second that Grandma Manson let a single gray hair show, they were sorely mistaken. The eldest Mason, Ida, and Erica's namesake, was present every year too.

Aunt Jazz and Uncle Dash were there too, and her younger twin boy cousins that she elected to ignore were more opposite than anyone would imagine; one got the brains, the other got the brawn. But the one thing they had in common was that they gave Uncle Dash a run for his money and always amused Aunt Jazz.

Erica's mother was uncharacteristically peppy around the holidays, enjoying decorating the tree and insisting Erica could do no harm to an evergreen (albeit once she was proven wrong). Though she preferred to cater the food, Sam Manson enjoyed all of the sweets and treats the holidays brought along with them. Being both Jewish and a self-proclaimed goth throughout her adolescent years, this mostly came as a surprise to the Mansons; however, she insisted they celebrate Hanukah for her grandmother's sake (she liked to make her presence and insistence on staying alive to see great-grandchildren, known).

Erica's father had grown to take a bit more of a liking toward he holidays. Growing past his own issues, Danny Fenton had come to enjoy seeing everyone take the time out of their busy schedules to get together for the holidays.

Which brings everything back to Erica, wandering aimlessly around Danny's old bedroom. Over the years, it had stayed relatively the same, and she had taken a liking to researching a bit into her father's past. It wasn't that he wouldn't tell her anything she didn't want to know, but sometimes Erica was beginning to think that as she progressed into her teenage years, her and her father were growing nearly as distant as her and her mother.

Erica decided to peruse the drawers of her father's old desk, scanning it casually, recognizing a lot of the old astronomy posters her dad collected when she was her age.

Erica suddenly stiffened. She let out a gasp as a bluish mist escaped her lips.

There was a knock on the door before it creaked open. "I thought I might find you in here."

"Aunt Nellie!" Erica squealed. She dropped the posters on the desk and ran over to her aunt.

Recognizable as Danny Fenton's clone, Danielle who had become Danni, who had become Nellie, was back for the holidays. Finding herself a little more with each change in appearance, Nellie's latest trend had been to shave the sides of her head and opt for dying her hair brown, capping it with a black beanie. She wore a maroon lipstick and pierced one nostril, but instead of her usual black crop top, she chose a red one for the holidays. She kept the combat boots and pants the same though.

"Hey squirt!" she giggled as she hugged back her niece. She pulled back for a minute and looked down at Erica. "How's the new changes going for ya?"

"Wonderful," Erica scoffed. She rolled her eyes before striding back over to the desk and collecting to posters. "Which part do you think was more fun? Phasing through the floor or freezing my cereal yesterday morning?"

Nellie crossed her arms. "You know, it might not be so bad if you let your father and I give you a hand."

"Yeah okay," Erica said with a bite in her tone. "Let me just drop all of my friends, my grades, and hobbies to become a superhero with you guys."

It had only been a few months since her new powers had shown up right in the first week of her freshman year of high school. Erica hadn't even considered the possibility that she might have powers until then. She had denied it for so long, and yet, it _did_ explain why she could never help in the garden without killing something.

"I know it can't be easy for you," Nellie continued.

"You were _born_ with powers, how would you know?" Erica snapped.

Nellie narrowed her eyebrows. "Because I know what your father went through."

Erica swallowed. She knew she had hit a sore spot for her aunt, bringing up where she had come from. But Erica wasn't about to apologize. It was her turn to feel like crap right then.

Nellie sat down on Danny's old bed and patted next to her. Erica pursed her lips before coming over to sit next to her aunt and looking at the ground. Nellie put one arm around her niece's shoulders. "Now, if you'll let me help you," she started. She could feel Erica tense a bit at the scolding but then she continued, "I have a little something for you." At this, Erica looked up at her, making Nellie smirk. "See? I know what makes you happier than most everything else." She reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a small, velvet box.

Erica's eyes lit up and took the box in her hands. Jewelry.

"Go on, open it!" Nellie insisted. "Do it before your mom comes up and insists we wait for dinner and dessert!"

Erica smiled for the first time that day and looked down, cracking the box open just a bit before flipped the lid back. Her breath caught at the two – seemingly glowing – blue crystals. They were accompanied by little silver hooks on the top: earrings.

"These are gorgeous!" she squeaked. "Where did you-?" she started to ask, but as she touched the tip of one, she quickly drew back her hand. "They're freezing!"

Nellie simply held up her hand, showing that it was glowing blue and emanating a cool mist. "Made them myself," she said with a smirk. "When you transform, they should appear in both forms. I figured it would be a nice way for you to connect both halves."

Erica gaped at Nellie before looking back down at the crystals. She swallowed before opening one hand and allowing the mist to form. She reached down and plucked on of the crystals out to examine it closer and smiled. She set down the box and allowed her other hand to mist over and secured both earrings in place. She flipped her silky blonde hair over her shoulder. "How do I look?"

"Strong as ever," Nellie replied with a wink.

Erica snorted. "Nice word choice."

"Erica!" came a call from down the hallway.

"Oh great," said girl retorted.

Nellie stifled a laugh.

In the doorway appeared Erica's mother, Sam. She was dressed in a black knee-length cocktail dress with red jewelry. Sam looked from Nellie to Erica before narrowing her eyes. "Did you open a present already?"

"You gotta chill, cuz," Nellie said with a hand on Sam's shoulder. "You've been so uptight lately. I told her to open it."

Sam eased slightly and sighed. "Being a CEO kind of requires being uptight." She shook her head before looking back to Erica. "Did Aunt Nellie get you those earrings?"

"She made them, Mom!" Erica explained. She held up a misted hand to one of them. "Aren't they gorgeous?"

Sam's eyes widened slightly before she looked back to Nellie. "Wow, they're something," she said. Then in a lower tone so only Nellie could hear, "That's the most excited I've seen her about her powers."

Nellie simply winked at Sam as Erica continued to admire her earrings in the mirror.

"Where's my little cousin?" came a voice from down the hall.

"Oh sh-!" Nellie started but was cut off by Danny gripping her in a bear hug. "Danny, please!" she breathed out.

"I'm so glad you're here!" he exclaimed. "How's everything going? How's the new place in Elmerton?"

"About that…" Nellie started. But then three ghost senses went off at once, and all three people in question transformed.

Sam ran downstairs to grab the ghost-hunting gear. Danny was out the window in mere seconds. Erica took a minute to process what was happening.

Nellie had transformed into her latest ghost form look, complete with white leather, fingerless gloves, belt, and choker. But it wasn't complete without her green-dyed hair and green lipstick.

Erica, only having fully transformed a handful of times before was weary. True to Nellie's word, the earrings stayed present on her ears and perfectly matched the crystal necklace and belt of her ghost transformation. The grey and blue outfit complemented the jewelry well – for Erica, they _had_ to – with grey gloves, blue boots and headband to wrap it up. Unlike her father and aunt, Erica's eyes were now glowing bright blue.

Shaking off her apprehension, Erica quickly followed Nellie outside above Fenton Works just in time to catch her father banter with a somewhat familiar ghost.

"How stupid do you think I am?" Danny scoffed.

"Pretty stupid," Ember McLain easily replied.

"Wait, stop!" Nellie said, getting between the two older ghosts.

Danny only slightly lowered his glowing green hands and looked to Nellie. "What are you doing?"

"It's okay!" she said, holding up hands to both of them.

Confused, Erica floated up next to her father. "What's going on?"

Ember then floated next to Nellie and took her hand. "You didn't tell them?"

"I-… I was about to."

"Tell us what?" Danny and Erica said in unison. They looked at each other briefly and then back to Nellie and Ember.

"We're dating." Ember said bluntly. And she tossed something at Danny who clumsily fumbled with the package before looking down at it. "A present for a truce among family."

Danny gaped at the wrapped present before looking back to Nellie.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she said. "I just wasn't sure how you'd react, and I-"

"Did you really think I'd care about it that much?" Danny asked.

"I mean, I'm not really _out_ yet, so-"

"Ness," Danny insisted. Then he shook his head and started to laugh. Erica looked between the three other floating figures around her, completely baffled. When Danny caught his breath he finally said, "I'm more concerned that she's one of my enemies than that you're gay."

Nellie looked to Ember and smiled before looking back to Danny. "So you're okay with this?"

"Of course, Nellie. I'm just concerned for your safety," he said, eyeing Ember.

Ember merely waved him off. "Just open your present."

Danny looked down at the package, completely forgetting he was holding it. He briefly looked to Erica with a warning glance of "Don't be as stupid as me right now" before tearing open the package.

Into his arms jumped a long-lost friend.

"Cujo!" Danny exclaimed. "Hi buddy!" Danny couldn't stop laughing as Cujo licked him all over his face.

"As long as you don't let him get angry, you might as well keep the lost puppy here on Earth," Ember said. "Merry Christmas, Phantom."

Danny petted Cujo under the chin and nodded to Ember. "Merry Christmas, Ember."

Erica, never having seen the ghost-dog before, hesitantly glided over to her father. He smiled at her and held out the puppy to her. Cujo promptly jumped into her arms and licked nearly all of her makeup off, making Erica protest but only half-heartedly. "Merry Christmas, Cujo," she said with a slight roll of her eyes but a smile on her face.

Nellie let on a small smile. She held out hand to the sky, glowing blue, and gentle flurries began to form in the air and fall from the clouds overhead.

"Merry Christmas."

 **[A/N 12-21-16]: Hi there! I really hope you enjoyed my take on Christmas with the Fentons! I know I threw in some other pairings that you might not have expected, but I figured Jazz might be married by then, and Nellie/Danielle needed an excuse to transform, right? I really like your ideas for Danielle, and your character Erica is adorable! I love her ghost form and that her middle name is Ida! You made awesome fanart for the characters so I hope you like how I interpreted them for this story! Merry Christmas! From your secret Santa, Nick Undine! (penname: Nikaya)**


End file.
